Chapter 139 Chapter 139 (Supplement)
Since the destruction of Star Sjaran, the Pirates' Corps has become notorious for its brutality, and everyone who mentions it is terrified.
The pitch-black battleship was called the "Black Ghost" and was as elusive as a ghost. The names of "Death" and "Fire Fox" also spread, ranking first and second on the Empire's wanted list. The bounty was so high that it made people jealous, but no one dared to take the lead.
Ruan Yuebai did not leave immediately, but stayed on the Black Ghost temporarily and led Rong Heng and his party to the planet Barham to use the Barham Arsenal to replenish the fleet and weapons that Lansing had promised.
But apart from necessary meetings, he was like a shadow on the Black Ghost, with almost no sense of existence.
Ever since the explosion of the planet Sjarlan and the death of Lansing, his mood has become very dull. He used to be taciturn and gloomy, but now he has no emotion at all.
In Nota's words, he was like a migrating fish that separated from its companions halfway and lost its direction, drifting aimlessly in the water, following the current.
Rong Heng did not comment on this. He had too many things to do and could not spare the energy to care about other people.
But Nota's words touched him: "Haven't you always wanted to build an invincible fleet? He is capable enough to be a captain."
There are powerful people in the interstellar pirate group nowadays, but these people were originally wanted criminals or pirates recruited from all over the place, and they are all vicious and evil. The premise of their loyalty to Rong Heng is that he can bring them huge benefits. Not to mention loyalty and trustworthiness, they can't even trust him with their backs.
Once Rong Heng gets into trouble, these people will probably be the first to turn against him.
Therefore, Rong Heng has been selecting reliable candidates over the years, preparing to build a fleet loyal to himself after accumulating enough experience.
It’s just that it’s easy to find soldiers, but hard to find good generals.
So far, only Nota has passed his test.
Now that Nota mentioned Ruan Yuebai, he thought about it seriously and actually felt that this was indeed a good candidate.
Ruan Yuebai has merman blood. He is not only good at water attacks, but also has a very smart brain. Compared with Nota's rough and simple fighting style, he is more like a strategist who can plan and strategize from behind.
"You can try it," Rong Heng said finally.
Nota held a glass of wine and went to the lounge to look for Ruan Yuebai.
They were on their way to the planet Balem. Ruan Yuebai was quiet and spent most of her time alone in the corner of the rest cabin, looking quietly out the porthole.
"What's there to see outside? It's pitch black." Nota moved closer and looked out with his head close together.
Ruan Yuebai leaned back somewhat uncomfortably, distanced herself from him, and said in a hoarse voice, "What's the matter?"
He doesn't like chatting with people, and now he stays here just to keep his promise.
"Is there nothing I can do to find you?" Nota shrugged and shook her wine glass at him. She was originally very charming and beautiful, but the scars across her cheeks made her look a little more daring, and her rough words and actions diluted the natural charm of the nine-tailed fox clan, making her look a little more bold.
"I think we have a connection." She approached Ruan Yuebai again and pointed at the wound on his face.
It means that they all have wounds on their faces and are disfigured.
"I cut myself with a knife to avoid being hunted down and getting into trouble." She rolled her eyes slyly, staring at Ruan Yuebai and asked, "What about you?"
Ruan Yuebai frowned subconsciously and turned her cheek to the shadow to hide the scars on her face.
Mermaids pay attention to appearance, which is engraved in their genes. Even after so much time, he still can't face himself. When he and Lansing stayed on the planet Sijialan, they lived in a place without even a mirror.
He was reluctant to talk about that difficult time.
But Nota's eyes were clear, and when he asked the question, there was a kind of intimacy of "we are the same", which did not make him feel too offended.
Perhaps he was too lonely after Lansing left, and at this moment he actually had the desire to confide.
He brushed his long blue hair that covered his face and said in a hoarse voice, "It was in the lab, and then the injury was not properly treated and got worse."
Originally, the scars should not be so serious, but he escaped from the transport ship that was transporting the experimental subject and was stranded on the garbage planet, where he was seriously injured. He survived by relying on his strong will to survive. The environment was harsh at that time, and the scars on his face and tail could not be properly treated. The injuries even became infected and worsened. Later, he was left with a large scar, and one of his eyes lost its ability to see.
Although Lansing later found him and hired many doctors to treat him, the liquid that corroded the wound was too special and the damage could not be reversed.
"I told you we have a connection." Nota held his chin up, the only remaining fiery red fox tail swaying gently behind him.
Only then did Ruan Yuebai notice that she only had one tail.
Similar experiences have made the estrangement between the two people lessened a lot. Ruan Yuebai is still withdrawn and gloomy, but he will occasionally chat with Nota for a while.
Ruan Shiqing watched with envy as Nota coaxed Ruan Yuebai into joining his camp before arriving at the planet Balem.
The three formed an alliance.
Rong Heng wants to find out the truth about his mother's death and avenge her; Nota wants to be the governor of Tutar and make those noble pure-bloods kneel at her feet; as for Ruan Yuebai, since Lanxing and Sijialan died together, he lost his goal and had nowhere to go, so he followed Nota's advice and stayed, trying to treat Rong Heng and Nota as new companions.
Ruan Shiqing shuttled back and forth in the huge "Black Ghost", watching the three people constantly perfecting their plan to attack the planet Balem.
The three of them would occasionally disagree and argue. Nota and Rong Heng both had bad tempers, and in the end it was Ruan Yuebai who mediated and came up with a compromise.
Everything seems completely different from the previous life, but similar shadows can be seen in the subtle details.
Even though their experiences were different and their personalities had changed, they still seemed to be the same kids that Ruan Shiqing was familiar with.
He wandered around the battleship, and would sit with Ruan Yuebai for a while when she sat in a daze; when Nota was drunk, he would nag her and remind her that alcoholism was harmful to the body; and when Rong Heng was alone in the operations room browsing news related to Si Yan, he would hug him from behind and tell him over and over again that your father is not what you see, and he loves you very much.
Even though they couldn't sense his presence, Ruan Shiqing still repeated it tirelessly.
The war began when the Black Phantom arrived at the planet Balem first.
After several battles, Rong Heng stormed Balem. Just as they were preparing to lead their troops to station there, something strange happened.
A huge ark rose from the underground of the Balham Arsenal, loaded with robot soldiers, and took a guarding posture. The commander of the ark made Ruan Shiqing feel very familiar.
The other party did not start a fight right away, but instead initiated a communication request.
Rong Heng answered the call and negotiated with the other party.
It was a tall robot, all golden, wearing a well-fitting black suit and a black hat, like an old-fashioned gentleman. Even when the guns of both sides were aimed at each other, it was still polite.
He introduced himself as "Tianqi" and explained his purpose.
——He wants to cooperate with Rong Heng.
It's not just Rong Heng who has his eyes on the Barham Arsenal. Tianqi has also been planning to seize control of the Barham planet.
The mechanization level of Balham is quite high, and many tasks are completed by robots. So when Rong Heng attacked Balham, Tianqi also took the opportunity to implant the virus program into the control system and turned these robots against the government.
And now he came to Rong Heng to discuss a business deal.
"I have heard of the Black Ghost for a long time, and I admire it very much." If you ignore his appearance, Tianqi's words and deeds are no different from those of humans: "Now that the building is about to collapse, since we have met by chance and have the same goal, why should we kill each other? Why not work together and share a piece of the pie."
"I know several secret arsenals under the four major tycoons. They not only produce a large number of warships and weapons, but also countless robots." He performed an elegant ceremony: "It's just that I can't eat such a big cake by myself. I need a powerful ally."
His attitude can be considered friendly, but unfortunately Rong Heng does not trust him.
In particular, the actions of this robot have clearly exceeded the scope of a robot. It does not look like a well-configured robot, but more like a cunning human in a robot shell.
He, Nota and Ruan Yuebai looked at each other and all of them shook their heads.
Tianqi obviously saw their doubts and considerately explained his purpose: "My name comes from the Book of Revelation, which says that on the day of judgment, the Lamb will open the seal and summon riders riding four horses: white, red, black, and green. These four riders will bring plague, war, famine, and death to mankind, and then the world will be destroyed. [Note 1]"
He stretched out his arms and grinned: "The empire has become so corrupt that only after its destruction can it be reborn."
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse represent the coming of the end.
He named himself "Tianqi", obviously believing that he would bring destruction and rebirth to the empire.
But Rong Heng didn't believe what he said.
A robot who has awakened his own consciousness and has commanded a robot army does not think that the other party invited him to cooperate just to destroy the world. Even if the other party behaves like a human, it cannot change the fact that the other party is a robot.
There is only two words between robots and humans, but their essences are worlds apart.
There is an old saying that "Those who are not of my race must have different hearts", and Rong Heng deeply believes this.
Their stance is different. To cooperate blindly is tantamount to nurturing a tiger to cause harm.
The negotiations broke down, and the two sides, who had been talking politely a minute ago, opened fire on each other without hesitation.
The artillery fire spread across the entire planet of Balem. After three days and nights of fierce fighting, it finally ended with Tianqi escaping with his robot soldiers in an ark.
But Rong Heng did not get any good results either, as the casualties were much greater than expected.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Rong Heng called out Tianqi's holographic image and asked people to check Tianqi's origins.
Ruan Shiqing stared at the holographic image, looking at this strange yet somewhat familiar robot, and finally confirmed that Tianqi was actually 09.